De Blasio, 58, said he was disappointed when he failed to qualify for a Sept. 12 debate, which required candidates to have 130,000 donors and a 2% favorite rating in four separate national polls. Candidates are required to meet the same benchmarks to qualify for an October debate.

“I want to get into the October debates if I can. I think that’s a good reason to keep going forward,” de Blasio said during a news conference in Manhattan Wednesday. “If I can’t it’s really tough to conceive of continuing, so that’s the way I look at it.”

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The mayor of the most populous U.S. city has struggled to gain voter support after campaigning in Iowa, South Carolina, New Hampshire and Nevada since announcing his candidacy in May. He has depicted himself as the only progressive Democrat in the race who has executive experience and has pitched his candidacy as an advocate for working people, pledging universal health care, pre-kindergarten, a $15 minimum wage and a 70% tax rate on earnings more than $2 million a year.

De Blasio told reporters he is pinning his hopes on an unexpected campaign moment that could catch the imagination of American voters, saying his 2013 election as mayor, and the 2016 campaign that brought President Donald Trump to the White House were part of political trend toward unpredictability.

Town hall

Climate change takes center stage at a CNN town hall on Wednesday. The Democratic National Committee has rejected demands from climate activists and several candidates for a party-sponsored debate solely on that issue.

Joe Biden, Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders, along with most of the other Democratic candidates, are expected to attend the New Hampshire Democratic Party State Convention in Manchester on Saturday, Sept. 7.

Ten candidates will face off in the third Democratic debate on Sept. 12 in Houston. It will be the first time Biden and Warren share a debate stage. Cory Booker, Pete Buttigieg, Julian Castro, Kamala Harris, Amy Klobuchar, Beto O’Rourke, Sanders and Andrew Yang will also participate.

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